Instant Recap of the June 2010 LSAT

So some of our East Coast correspondents have reported back to us. It appears that for basically the fourth consecutive LSAT, stretching back to the infamous Mauve Dinosaur game from last June, logic games were the make-or-break section.

Apparently, the first few games were relatively simple, but the last game was a monster that echoed the Mauve Dino game.

Any reactions of your own? Thoughts on the test? What are you drinking tonight? Don’t post any answers to questions in the comments, or too much in the way of specifics about the exam, but any immediate thoughts that come to mind, holler at us.

I completely agree with your analysis of the games section on the test today. I actually read about the Mauve Dinosaur after I took the June 2009 practice test and I felt a wave of confidence because I dominated that section. Today left me feeling not so confident. I flew through the first Games section but when I got to the second “scored” games section, my stomach turned inside out. The first two games were fine and the third threw me off because it only had two rules. I briefly looked at it and moved on to the last but then realized it was going to be harder. I tried to finish the 3rd game as quickly as possible so that I could concentrate on the final game but ended up running out of time. I can’t believe that what typically was my strongest section, defeated me today.

Yeah mulch and stone.. Pretty sure I
crapped the bed on LG this time. Not sure yet if I need to go ahead and sign up for October though..
I felt like LR was a little forgiving.. I got an experimental RC .. One was easy and one was a super bitch

Yeah, that #3 was really hard, it only had TWO rules. By the time I figured out the major deduction, I was already behind on time. Because of this my 4th game kicked me in the ass as well…a game that wasn’t too easy either.

LR was typical, aside from more disagree and parallel questions than usual.

I got through the first 3 games, but none of them were very easy. By the time I got to the fourth game (the one comparable to the mauve dino), I only had 3 or 4 minutes left…..enough to figure out the answer to the first of 6 questions. The others I guessed all “D” before time was called, so hopefully some of those answers were D.

I thought the exam overall was pretty tough, and I’m a little discouraged. I know I won’t do as well as I was consistently practicing, and may have to re-take in October.

The mulch/stone game threw me off completely…the other three I breezed through. The cleaning of the truck threw me off….now that I think about it there was a way to work it out but it was not like any game I had practiced.UGH!

had experimental RC and the one that actually counted was hard :-( and it sucks since they throw it at you at the very end. def guessed a lot on that, sucks because it is usually one of my strongest parts…

THE GAMES WERE SO HARD! i’m feeling so bad about the test! the first and fourth of the games took me for a ride….the mulch/stone question was actually easy if you could look past the two rules part. could it be possible that everyone sucked it up and it will be scored on a curve?

Agreed. The LG first 2 were ok, then 3 about the mulch was a b*tch. Couldn’t fig. the major deduction until time called and after I had done game 4 which was also hard. Plus the last reading passage was super hard-not a good note to end on. Overall I am worried about my score…cry

Hi everyone,
Unfortunately, LSAC won’t allow us to post any comments regarding which section was experimental. So while we posted the questions regarding which section was the experimental, sadly the answer will not be forthcoming here.

Congratulations to all who took the test – you deserve to celebrate tonight.
Sincerely,
MSS

I agree that the reading comp section was really hard. I may have been fatigued and panicking by the end, but I had a lot of trouble following the last passage about legal compensation in Australia. Aye. I definitely guessed on most of the questions for that passage and a few from the third passage about Chicano theater as well.

Yeah this test was definitely harder than the practice tests I took (maybe it was just nerves). I was getting 175s on my practice tests with time left over at the ends of each section to check my work, but this time, I had little time to check and I feel like I bombed .. I’ll be lucky to get a 165! The LG I thought were okay actually, but now that all of you are worried, maybe I did badly and am being overly confident! RC was definitely tricky, especially the one on contingency fees and the one on Chavez. The bees one was okay. I don’t really remember the other. I actually thought the LR was pretty tough this time around! I guess we’ll have to wait and see

I agree with most people here. I consistently scored between 168 and 172 on practice tests, usually rocking LR and LG and suffering a little on RC. Today’s LG section that counted rocked me. I had run out of time messing with the fourth game. I ended up guessing on all of the dumptruck one and at least half of the 4th game. Everything else I felt very good about. I had two logic games sections.

The LG section was brutal…I usually finish all 4 games but this time I had to guess 5 questions on my last game because I ran out of time. RC is also usually pretty good for me but it was soooo hard this time, I ended up guessing 2 questions from RC because of time limits.

But based on what everybody else said, it could be possible that we were just unlucky and happened to be given an extra difficult LSAT…which means it could be curved pretty favourably (I’m praying to God lol)

I thought the fourth was far and away the most difficult of the logic games section. The others were decent to tough in my opinion. From the comments, it seems like people were having problems with the mulch/stone question, which I must admit was the one question I thought the easiest. Of course, I suck at logic games relative to the rest of the test sections, so take this with a grain of salt.

Honestly…I have no clue how well I did… My best guess is I did horrible on the first and last LG, I got 3 LR sections and I did okay in all three, but I didnt finish any of them and had to bubble in the last few on each of them. The RC was okay, I finished 3 of the parts and had to quickly bubble in the last section. I definitely feel I will be taking it again in October with better results.

Does anyone know how international tests work? i just took one in France and I dont remember doing a mulch game – is the entire test different in other countries and if so, is it graded according to the american curve or a separate curve?

I was one of the people who only had one RC section. Ironically, I thought it was so hard, the rest of the test I was waiting for another RC section assuming the first had to be the experimental section. I always finish RC with at least 5 minutes to spare and I score the best on that section. I found myself skimming the last passage and barely reading the last two questions! Not only were the passages far more complex than any practice test I have ever taken with way too much “lingo”, but that whole comparative section really threw me as I have never taken a practice test with a prompt with that formatting…see some of you in October…

I know we can’t give specifics, but I got screwed and made a huge equivocation error on these. I and spent the entire time not understanding that “field” meant occupation and not “geographical location.” Fudge…

Anyways, I’m moving to Europe (literally), was that thing about New Zealand test centers true? I assume not, but please let me know. Where is the best test center in Europe for thew October?

I had one of each type during the first 3 sections, and the LG were so out there and unlike what I was used to that I was convinced it was the experimental section until I found out it wasn’t with the second RC, which made me lose a lot of spirit…

LG had been my best section in practice averaging only about 3-4 wrong in my last few prep tests, and this one I ended up guessing on nearly half the questions because of both the games being so hard and my thinking it had to be experimental because of it made me put slightly less effort into it than I should have :/

I had two RCs and the 2nd was rough, mostly because I thought I KILLED the first and wasn’t expecting another, though I should have been ready for anything. That 3rd passage was a bear, though, and it took most of the time I had for the 4th.

I screwed up the timing on the games and had to guess the last 3 or so on the 4th problem.

I suppose, though, that all these varied difficulties show what a great job they did making the test. I had an absolute blast, even though I had my low moments. Hope everyone is proud of themselves and congratulations on all your hard work.

I will endeavor to keep the thread clean and free of specifics (that might violate the NDA with LSAC). This is something June testers need to be aware of, as it appears to have been fairly common phenomenon.

The third game is what seemed to hold everyone up so it was almost impossible to get to the fourth. I skipped the third because it looked like crap and decided to go to the last game which required a ton of work.

The last logic game was rough I completely drew a blank. Ended up guessing see on the last few questions. I was killing the games on all of my practice tests. Overall the whole test was a blur. I can only remember my mistakes. Hoping for a decent curve or the removal of that last game.

I feel so comforted by the fact that a lot of other people had similar troubles with the last two games and the real reading comp section. It gives me hope that this test was in fact extremely hard and a generous curve will follow… until I realize that the comments posted do not come from a representative sample of LSAT-takers, because those of us who did poorly are way more likely to come on here and whine and moan than are our superior counterparts to come on here and cry with joy.

…The logic games section threw me off completely, the only ones I am SURE about are the “easy” first questions of each game…..Luckily, I found the LR sections to be easy…but then again, maybe that was just a misperception after having complete such difficult logic games sections.

Was my logic correct on the mulch/stone question that either the mulch or stone had to be together or on ends with the other material between? Otherwise it would require 4 cleanings. So either it could require 1 cleaning, 2 cleaning, but it would not even be possible to have exactly 3 cleanings? UGH I am so frustrated by the games section!!

there’s no way they’re going to eliminate a game from scoring- even if tons of people protest or what not. how would they adjust for people that spent the time to figure out the game, thus, not getting to a different game? also, are the games in the same order for every test? they probably randomize them per test booklet

I am comforted in reading that all of you had the same problems that I did. I found my three LR sections to be extremely easy; however reading comp, which i normally get 75% on, was a complete bitch. The LG’s were also very difficult; I agree with the majority of you that the first two games were not too bad, but the last two games were very asshole. I am hoping for a favorable raw score – LSAT score conversion chart; as long as I cleared 70% overall, I should be ok.

I agree with what everyone else here seems to be saying… The LG section was bad over all but the last two games were just beyond games I’d ever practices with (about 10 pre-tests), and the RC second section was just completely unfair. I guess i’m not above complaining but it was really a sick joke to have the second section which really counted so much more difficult than thee first RC. I’m only commenting (i would usually only read these comments to make myself feel better) but I really hope that if more people get their feelings out there law services will more seriously consider an appropriate scale for this june test.

Regarding the mulch question, it is possible to have 3 cleanings (msssmms or mmssmss, for example).

Did anyone else notice that, near the end of the second LR section (on LR LG LR form) there was a reused question from a test in the early 2000s? I want to say that it had a morality stimulus. It was question number 20-something. I hope I wasn’t just becoming delirious during the test.

The last reading comp passage was definitely a toughie, but I thought the other three weren’t too bad. In my case, I finished all 5 sections with time to spare, but not nearly enough in LG, so here’s to hoping for a generous curve.

I felt that with the exception of the last two logic games the test was much easier than usual. I got stuck thinking about the mulch question for like 5 mins and than just started guessing and was left with very little time for the last question. I should have just skipped number 3 and worked on #4 but I did not do that.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought those games were impossible. The worst part was that I flew through the first logic games section, only to find that it was experimental! I second the cheers for a big curve.